Kiss of Souls
By Morgan Kelley
Copyright © **2017 Morgan Kelley LLC
All rights reserved without limiting rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, introduced into a retrieval system, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including without limitation photocopying, recording, or other electronic or technical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this document via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. For permission requests, email [email protected]
Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, explicit sexual activity and disturbing imagery
©Copyright 2017 cover purchased by Morgan Kelley LLC and alterations done by Morgan Kelley LLC
Editing by Rachel Blackett and proofreading by Laura Matias
Other works by Morgan Kelley:
Standalone Thrillers
The Junction
Serial Sins
The Blood Betrayal
FBI Romance Series
The Killing Times (Book 1)
Sacred Burial Grounds (Book 2)
True Love Lost (Book 3)
Deep Dark Mire (Book 4)
Fire Burns Hot (Book 5)
Darkness of Truth (Book 6)
Devil Hath Come (Book 7)
Consumed by Wrath (Book 8)
Redemption is Here (Book 9)
Dead Shall Speak (Book 10)
Pledging to Die (Book 11)
Slay Bells Ring (Book 12)
Past will Haunt (Book 13)
Choices will Destroy (Book 14)
Blood shall Run (Book 15)
Act of Blood (Book 16)
Stalked by the Past (Book 17)
Dying to love (Book 18)
Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Series
Celestia is Falling (1)
Vegas is Dying (2)
Christmas is Killing (3)
Love is Bleeding (4)
Heaven is Weeping (5)
Hell is Burning (6)
Justice is Dead (7)
Croft Family Mob Justice
Dark Justice (Book 1)
Lost Justice (Book 2)
Littlemoon Investigations
Blood Red Rage (Book 1)
Lost & Broken (Book 2)
Unthinkable Games (Book 3)
Truth is Found (Book 4)
Haven of Nightmares (Book 5)
Forbidden Secrets (Book 6)
Kiss of Souls (Book 7)
The Carter Chronicles Trilogy
Sinner Repent (1)
Sinner Realized (2)
Sinner Reborn (3)
Oracle/The Phoenix Files
Oracle Rising (book 1)
Oracle Seeing (book 2)
Oracle Saving (book 3)
The Harcourte Vampyre Society series
Dangerous Revelations (1)
Dangerous Choices (2)
Dangerous Misery (3)
Dangerous Retaliation (4)
Dangerous Influence (5)
Dangerous Sacrifice (6)
Behind Closed Doors Anthology
Illegal Fantasies ~ Behind Closed Doors (1)
Romance Under Arrest~ Behind Closed Doors (2)
Holiday Reinforcements ~ Behind Closed Doors (3)
~~~~ About the Author ~~~~
Morgan Kelley lives in the beautiful Pocono Mountains with her husband and two children. After attending college at Penn State University and studying Criminal Justice, Morgan knew her only true passion in life would be murder and books. She put them both together and began her career as a writer. Other than books and writing, you can find Morgan hanging out in her garden and digging in the dirt.
Her other works include: The Junction, Serial Sins, The Blood Betrayal, The Killing Times (1), Sacred Burial Grounds (2), True Love Lost (3), Deep Dark Mire (4), Fire Burns Hot (5), Darkness of Truth (6), Devil Hath Come (7), Consumed by Wrath (8), Redemption is Here (9), Dead Shall Speak (10), Pledging to Die (11), Slay Bells Ring (12), Past will Haunt (13), Choices will Destroy (14), Blood shall Run (15), Act of Blood (16), Stalked by the Past (17), Dying to love (18), Blood Red Rage (1) Lost & Broken (2), Unthinkable Games (3), Truth is Found (4), Haven of Nightmares (5), Forbidden Secrets (6), Kiss of Souls (7), Celestia is Falling (1), Vegas is Dying (2), Christmas is Killing (3), Love is Bleeding (4), Heaven is Weeping (5), Hell is Burning (6), Justice is Dead (7), Dangerous Revelations (1), Dangerous Choices (2), Dangerous Misery (3), Dangerous Retaliation (4), Dangerous Influence (5), Dangerous Sacrifice (6), Sinner Repent (1), Sinner Realized (2), Sinner Reborn (3), Oracle Rising (1), Illegal Fantasies (Anthology 1), Romance Under Arrest (Anthology 2), and Holiday Reinforcements (Anthology 3)
Please feel free to visit Morgan at her website: www.morgankelley.com, email her [email protected], or visit her blog at www.morgankelley.blogspot.com or her website www.morgankelley.com
prologue
Delta Falls
Seedy Motel
O h, there was never a person who deserved this more in her life. This woman, the scourge of society and the wickedest witch he’d ever met in his life, belonged six feet under in an unmarked grave.
She was evil.
She was foul.
She was a manipulative whore who knew no limits to what she should or shouldn’t do.
Tonight, it would be laid out.
IN HER BLOOD.
Before it was over, she would feel the pain of what she’d done to so many. How she schemed, lied, betrayed, and caused so much torment to everyone around her.
Him included.
It was time to pay the piper, and this horrible woman was going to pay the price.
She was going to die.
The plan was simple enough. He was going to meet her, talk some sense into her, and then if that didn’t work, he’d ‘convince’ her.
By force.
By pain.
By death.
It didn’t matter, since there was no way this was getting out of hand. He was going to make sure she stayed out of his way, and out of his life. If she thought she was going to make this hellish, she had no idea.
Oh, it was on.
He was going to teach Shelby Christensen one hell of a lesson. She’d messed with the wrong person, and she was going to pay with her life.
As he approached the door, his hand shook.
His gut rolled.
His heart thudded.
A part of him wanted to chicken out and run home to hide before he did anything stupid. He always had a propensity to make horrible mistakes, and this could go south.
And fast.
If he wasn’t careful, he could end up on the wrong side of the law, and they wouldn’t believe that he was only protecting what was his.
His family.
His life.
His name.
They would think it was cold-blooded murder, and they would be wrong. She’d crossed the line, and it was up to him to put an end to that manipulative bitch.
ONCE.
AND.
FOR.
ALL.
Tonight was the night.
As he lifted his hand, preparing to knock on the door, he was worried. What if what she said was true?
What if…?
The possibilities played over and over again in his mind. When he’d spoken to Shelby, she sounded
so convincing. She sounded so…sure of herself.
What if she was right?
This would change everything.
He couldn’t let it happen.
There was too much riding on this for him, for his future, and for the family he, one day, wanted.
No.
He had to do this.
It was about being a man. This was a war, and he was a soldier, born in this mess, left to clean up after people who were supposed to know better.
Now he was going to fight the good fight, live his life, and accept nothing but what HE wanted.
After all, he deserved it.
This was all about justice and what was fair. In his life, he liked treating people well, and he believed in tit for tat.
Well this bitch was about to get her ass kicked for even daring to go there.
It was time.
When his knuckles connected with the door, he had to hold his breath. His heart was pounding like a drum in his chest and the staccato was deafening to his ears.
Behind the door, he could hear the cheap heels and the even cheaper woman heading his way. With each step, he became more and more angry with her.
How.
Dare.
She?
When this was over, Shelby Christensen would know who was boss, and what wasn’t going to fly. There was no doubt in his mind that when he scared her, she’d back down.
He’d seen that in his own life.
It would work.
He could relax.
Chances were, he’d never have to lay a hand on her. She’d back down. He knew it.
When the door opened, and there stood the used up, sickly-looking redhead, he almost felt sorry for her.
ALMOST.
“I see you’re on time,” Shelby stated.
“Yeah, about that…”
“Come in, and let’s get down to business.”
“Shelby, this is so wrong. You can’t treat people like this. There’s karma, and you’re going to pay for being a bitch.”
She laughed and let him into the dingy motel room. At one time, she suspected, the place had been decent. If it wasn’t for the fact of its central location, and the drug alley down the street, she wouldn’t set foot in this dive.
But the plan came first.
It was about securing what was hers in life.
“You pay and I don’t talk. It’s as simple as that,” she said, as she began walking across the room.
He saw red.
Literally.
On the walls.
On the floor.
On the threadbare linens.
In that moment, Shelby Christensen had walked straight into the arms of Karma, and she wasn’t merciful.
In fact, she was one hell of a bitch.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Delta Falls
One Week
Later
It had been a rough stretch for the family. Actually, that was putting it mildly. It was an understatement of mass proportions. What they had been going through was nothing less than Hell on Earth. Julian Littlemoon’s tribe was suffering more than ever before in their lives. They were all struggling with the events of the previous week.
That fateful call in the middle of the night had turned their whole world upside down.
Literally.
They went from running a business to trying to figure out how to save one of their own. All focus was on Tori’s brother, and how they could pull his bacon out of the fire. Beau’s life was on the line, and there had to be a way to save him.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
At all.
After he’d called, Julian and Tori tried to see him in county lockup, but they couldn’t get past the desk. He was being processed for murder, and until he went in for arraignment, no one was getting in there. There would be no visitation, no touching him, and no making sure he was okay.
They were in the dark.
And it sucked.
Since his was a capital offense in their state, he was going to have one hell of a time being bonded out. Tori and Julian both knew the cold, hard reality of it.
Beau might be sitting in jail for the duration.
That didn’t sit right with either of them. They believed in his innocence, and they couldn’t let him slip into the mire of the justice system.
Tori wept.
It broke Julian’s heart—so much so that Julian got right on it, and they managed to find a bondsman who would give them the money to spring Beau.
When he gave them the amount, Julian nearly threw up. In any other situation, he wouldn’t have done it.
Well, maybe.
Family was family.
One million dollars was the big ugly number, and Julian didn’t have that kind of liquid assets. He had one fourth of that in their bank account, but it was for paychecks, insurance, and the money to keep ‘Littlemoon Investigations’ open.
That money was vital for their operation and pulling it out…it meant the team would suffer.
Julian had been between a rock and a hard place.
Here was the conundrum.
All it took were Tori’s tears, and his mind was made up.
So, he did what he never thought he’d have to do in all of his life—not for Beau—but for Tori.
He put his business up as collateral.
Sadly, ‘Littlemoon Investigations’ was on the chopping block, and along with it went all his hopes, dreams, and their newborn daughter’s legacy.
Fate was driving the bus.
At least he’d had time to digest it.
Well, that had been Friday, and it was now Monday morning. It was time for the team to get together to be given their assignments. He wasn’t looking forward to today.
At all.
It was his least favorite meeting of his life. In it, he was going to have to ask his people to work pro bono on this one. While they had managed to bond Beau out, the cash Julian had in the account for work was then used as a retainer for a damn good attorney.
He was going to go into that office to ask the people, who relied on him, to forgo their salaries and to work for free. He was going to have to put their lives on the line too. They each had families they were trying to support.
Claire and Beckett weren’t rich, and they were just starting out in the world. They couldn’t handle the financial hit.
Kane and Christina had a baby to support, and they were blue collar to the core. This would put a burden on them too.
Julian wanted to be sick.
This whole situation sucked.
Tori had been up crying all night, and she’d looked like hell when he’d seen her that morning. His wife was recouping from giving birth, and here they were fighting one hell of a battle that they were destined to lose.
Lose Beau.
Lose their business.
Lose their livelihood.
The sight of Tori sobbing silently on the couch…it broke him. Still, Julian didn’t know if it was because of the shitty situation her brother was in, or if her mother’s death had finally hit her.
Whatever it was, all he knew was his wife, fresh out of giving birth, was on the brink of losing her brother to a crime they knew he didn’t commit.
He couldn’t.
He wouldn’t.
This was Beau.
On top of the fear, Beau was her last living link to the world. With Shelby gone, it had to be hurting her. Whether she showed it or not, he knew his wife.
Trey was with her, yes, but he was dead to the world.
Shelby, while a skank, who likely got what she deserved, was still her mother.
Poor Beau…
Damn!
This sucked.
The young, ex-soldier’s fate depended on if they could figure this out. Honestly, Julian really believed that this was going to be way out of their reach.
The evidence was against him. When he had heard it all, it made him cringe.
First, Beau had
talked to his mother that day so his cell phone showed he had made the call. Forget that he’d called her, against Julian and Tori’s wishes.
They’d warned him.
He ignored it.
Then, as if it couldn’t get worse, he made an ‘appointment’ to meet her at her motel room.
Alone.
And without any alibis or someone to have his back in case it went bad.
And boy did it go bad…
Finally, after he arrived, he’d found her beaten and lying in a puddle of her own blood.
He touched the door.
Her.
And he had blood all over him.
It was the investigator’s trifecta.
Shit!
He put his DNA all over her body, and her DNA all over his clothes. That muddied the investigative water. Did he do it to set the scene or was he, indeed, an innocent victim?
It was up to the cops to decide.
The evidence was shot to shit.
When it couldn’t get any worse, just at that moment, the cops kicked in the door. It had been an anonymous call saying they heard screaming and some man had entered the room.
Well, it got the cops there fast.
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